Conclusion: thinking about models of economic voting in hard times

This series of papers provides an overview of economic voting in countries that are not often given pride of place in the political behaviour literature. Employing a variety of model specifications, the featured authors conclude that, in general, subjective and/or objective economic indicators influence the decision of voters to vote for or against an incumbent party or coalition. Electorates tend to punish parties who happen to be leading their nations when times are bad, and, from time to time, they reward parties for economic success (for a discussion of the latter, see Nezi's discussion of the Greek electorate in 2004 and C̨arkoğlu's discussion of Turkish voting behaviour in 2007). However, for reasons discussed below, the manner in which the economy drives voter choice may become more indirect and complex, if they have not already.